Dunne surprised by Keane move

Richard Dunne has admitted he is surprised former Irish team-mates Roy Keane and Niall Quinn are on the verge of working togethe again at Sunderland.

Richard Dunne has admitted he is surprised former Irish team-mates Roy Keane and Niall Quinn are on the verge of working together again at Sunderland.

Dunne was part of the Republic of Ireland World Cup squad four years ago when Keane launched his infamous tirade at Mick McCarthy’s training methods and then lambasted both Quinn and Steve Staunton for their failure to stick up for him.

Having previously labelled Quinn “a coward” and “a muppet”, it has come as a major shock that Keane is seriously considering an offer to work under the former striker and accept the job of managing Sunderland.

Quinn has refused to discuss the matter today, although it is still anticipated Keane will be unveiled next week, possibly prior to Monday’s Championship encounter with West Brom at the Stadium of Light.

Knowing both men well, Dunne feels the Wearsiders can only benefit if Keane and Quinn have patched up their differences, although he did acknowledge he was stunned when he heard the news.

“I am a bit surprised,” said the Manchester City skipper.

“Obviously, it is obviously something that happened four years ago but it seems, if they did have a rift, they have worked things out for the benefit of themselves and Sunderland.

“The two of them are great professionals and they know what they want.

“Niall seems to be getting the right group of people together up there and Roy definitely has the potential to be a very good manager, so it should be a good partnership.”

Keane’s log-time boss Alex Ferguson was also taken aback, although it is the timing of the move which has caught the Scot off guard rather than his former captain’s destination.

As recently as May, Ferguson was talking in glowing terms about the potential of Keane as a manager.

However, he has warned the 35-year-old the job is much tougher than it was when he entered the management game over three decades ago.

“It is a bit earlier than I thought but, in football, sometimes tomorrow never comes. This opportunity has come up and, if he is taking it, that thought is maybe uppermost in his mind.

“You don’t want to be out of the game too long, which is the same advice I received when I quit playing.

“Sunderland are a club with a great history. They have a fantastic support base, a good stadium and, apparently, they have a fantastic training ground.

“Everything is there but it won’t be easy because no management job is these days because of the media, the agents and the amount of power the players have.”